KR101659913B1 - Ice making duct of refrigerator and ice making method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An ice making duct of a refrigerator and an ice making method using the same are introduced. The ice making duct of a refrigerator comprises: a cooling duct which allows cold air to flow therein in a longitudinal direction and of which both ends are connected with an ice making room to circulate the cold air to the ice making room; an evaporating coil which is installed to surround the cooling duct and cools the air into the cold air through the heat exchange with refrigerants; and heat transfer fins which are formed inside the cooling duct. Therefore, the present invention directly uses the cold air cooled in the cooling duct to make ice.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an icemaker for a refrigerator and an icemaking method using the icemaker,

The present invention relates to an ice making duct of a refrigerator and an ice making method using the ice making duct.

A refrigerator is a device intended for low-temperature storage of food, and can be configured to refrigerate or store food according to the type of food to be stored.

The inside of the refrigerator is cooled by the continuously supplied cool air, and the cool air is continuously generated by the heat exchange function of the refrigerant by the refrigeration cycle through the process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation. The cold air supplied to the inside of the refrigerator is uniformly transferred to the inside of the refrigerator by the convection so that the food inside the refrigerator can be stored at a desired temperature.

Generally, the refrigerator body is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped having an open front, and a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment may be provided inside the refrigerator body. In addition, a refrigerator compartment door and a freezer compartment door may be provided on the front surface of the main body for selectively shielding the opening, and a plurality of drawers, a shelf and a storage compartment for storing various foods in an optimal state may be provided in the storage space inside the refrigerator. Box or the like may be provided.

Conventionally, a top mount type refrigerator in which a freezing compartment is located on the upper side and a refrigerating compartment is located on the lower side has been the mainstream. In recent years, however, a bottom freeze type refrigerator Is also being released. Here, in the case of the bottom freeze type refrigerator, a frequently used refrigerator room is located on the upper side, and a relatively less used freezer room is located on the lower side, so that the user can conveniently use the refrigerator room. However, since the bottom freeze-type refrigerator has the freezing chamber located on the lower side, it is inconvenient for the user to bend the waist to open the freezing chamber door and take out the ice to take out the ice.

In order to solve this problem, a refrigerator has been recently provided with a dispenser for taking out ice from the refrigerator compartment door located above the bottom freeze type refrigerator. In this case, an ice maker for generating ice may be provided in the refrigerator compartment door or the refrigerating compartment.

For example, in the bottom freeze type refrigerator in which the ice maker is installed in the refrigerator compartment door, air (cool air) cooled by the evaporator is branched and discharged to the freezer compartment and the refrigerating compartment. The cool air discharged to the freezer compartment flows to the ice maker along the cool air supply duct embedded in the side wall of the refrigerator, and then dehydrates while flowing inside the ice maker. Then, the cool air in the ice maker is discharged to the refrigerator through the cool air reducing duct embedded in the side wall of the refrigerator, thereby lowering the internal temperature of the refrigerator.

However, since the cold air on the side of the freezing chamber is used for the ice making device through the cold air supply duct and the cold air reducing duct for the ice making of ice in the ice maker, the cold air moves through the cold air supply duct and the cold reduction duct , The supply efficiency of the cool air may be reduced.

Further, since the cool air on the side of the freezing chamber must be moved to the ice making device of the refrigerator compartment door, when the refrigerator is continuously operated, the power consumption due to the operation of the refrigerator may be greatly increased.

Patent Document: Korean Published Patent Application No. 10-2005-0098135 (published on October 11, 2005)

Embodiments of the present invention provide an ice making duct for a refrigerator which can directly use cold air cooled in a cooling duct to generate ice.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ice making duct for a refrigerator, comprising: a cooling duct having both ends thereof communicable with the ice making chamber so that cold air can move in the longitudinal direction inside the ice making chamber; An evaporation coil installed so as to surround the cooling duct and cooling the air by the cool air through heat exchange with the coolant; And a heat transfer fin provided inside the cooling duct.

At this time, the heat transfer fins may be provided at a plurality of positions spaced apart from the inner surface of the cooling duct.

The cooling duct may include a cooling channel extending in the longitudinal direction of the cooling duct to move the cooling air, A first duct hole provided at one end of the cooling passage to supply the cool air to the ice-making chamber; And a second duct hole provided at the other end of the cooling channel to receive the cool air from the ice making chamber.

The first duct hole may be connected to the upper side of the ice making chamber, and the second duct hole may be connected to the lower side of the ice making chamber.

In addition, the cooling duct may be extended in the vertical direction of the main body so as to be inclined toward the front direction of the main body of the refrigerator from inside the main body of the refrigerator.

Further, the cooling duct is installed in the main body of the refrigerator, and the ice-making chamber is installed in the refrigerator compartment door of the refrigerator, and one end and the other end of the cooling duct are selectively communicated with the refrigerator compartment door by opening and closing the refrigerator compartment door. have.

In addition, the evaporation coil has an evaporator function of a refrigeration cycle and can cool the cooling duct by conduction.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ice making method using an ice making duct of a refrigerator, comprising: supplying air to a cooling duct surrounded by an evaporating coil; Supplying a refrigerant to the evaporation coil; Cooling the air through a heat transfer fin provided in the cooling duct to exchange heat between the air and the refrigerant; Supplying the cold air to an ice making chamber for producing ice; Discharging the cool air in the ice-making chamber to the cooling duct; And re-cooling the discharged cool air in the cooling duct.

At this time, the step of cooling the air through the heat exchange between the air and the coolant may cool the cool air to a predetermined temperature or lower by moving the cool air along the cooling channel of the cooling duct for a predetermined period of time.

Embodiments of the present invention have an advantage in that the cooling efficiency of ice can be improved and the supply efficiency of cool air can be increased by generating ice using cool air directly cooled in the cooling duct.

In addition, since the circulation of the cold air is short between the cooling duct and the ice making space of the refrigerator door, the embodiments of the present invention enable the cooling air cooled in the lower portion of the refrigerator to move to the ice- There is an advantage that the loss can be effectively reduced and the power consumption due to the operation of the refrigerator can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an ice making duct of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view cut along the "AA"
3 is a block diagram illustrating a refrigeration cycle of an ice making duct of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a state diagram illustrating a connection state between an ice-making chamber and a cooling duct in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an internal structural view illustrating an ice making chamber of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a block diagram illustrating an ice making method using an ice making duct of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, configurations and operations according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following description is one of many aspects of the claimed invention and the following description may form part of the detailed description of the invention. However, the detailed description of known configurations or functions in describing the present invention may be omitted for clarity.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and its various embodiments, it is intended to illustrate the specific embodiments and the detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

And terms including ordinals such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the constituent elements are not limited by such terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one component from another. It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an ice making duct of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view cut along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross- FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

1 to 4, the ice making duct 200 of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention can generate ice using the cool air cooled in the cooling duct 210.

The refrigerator 1 includes a main body 10 for forming an outer appearance of the main body 10 and a barrier 20 for partitioning the inside of the main body 10 into a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber, A refrigerator compartment door 30 for selectively shielding the refrigerating compartment, and a freezing compartment door 40 for shielding the front opening of the freezing compartment. The refrigerator 1 according to the present embodiment is a bottom freeze type refrigerator in which a freezing chamber is located at a lower position, but the present invention is not limited thereto and the present invention can be applied to various types of refrigerators.

The ice making duct 200 includes a cooling duct 210 through which cool air can be moved in the longitudinal direction thereof, an evaporation coil 220 through which the cooling duct 210 is cooled by conduction, a cooling duct 210 installed inside the cooling duct 210, (Not shown).

Specifically, the cooling duct 210 may include a cooling passage 211, a first duct hole 212, and a second duct hole 213.

The cooling passage 211 is a passage through which cool air is moved, and may extend in the longitudinal direction within the cooling duct 210. Particularly, since the cooling passage 211 has a sufficient length to cool the air by the cooling air, the air is supplied to the cooling passage 211 at a temperature (for example, ) ≪ / RTI >

The first duct hole 212 may be provided at one end of the cooling passage 211 to supply the cool air to the ice making chamber 110 and the second duct hole 213 may be provided at the end of the ice making chamber 110 And the cooling channel 211 may be provided at the other end of the cooling channel 211 to receive the cool air. For example, the first duct hole 212 may be connected to the upper side of the ice making chamber 110, the second duct hole 213 may be connected to the lower side of the ice making chamber 110, The cool air in the cooling duct 210 may be moved upward from the lower end of the cooling duct 210.

The cooling duct 210 may be bent in the vertical direction of the main body 10 so as to be inclined toward the front side of the main body 10 from the inside of the main body 10. For example, the cooling duct 210 may be curved in a " C "or" C "shape toward the front side of the main body 10.

Thus, when the defrost water is generated in the cooling duct 210, the defrost water flows into the cooling duct 210 (210) (Not shown), and then discharged to the outside through a separate drainage device (not shown).

The cooling duct 210 is installed in the main body 10 of the refrigerator 1 and the ice making chamber 110 is provided in the refrigerator chamber door 30 of the refrigerator 1. At this time, The first duct hole 212 and the second duct hole 213 can be selectively connected to the inlet 310 and the outlet 320 of the ice making chamber 110 according to the opening and closing of the refrigerating chamber door 30.

That is, when the refrigerator door 30 is closed to the main body 10, the cool air in the cooling duct 210 flows into the inlet 310 of the ice making chamber 110 through the first duct hole 212, And the cold air introduced into the ice-making chamber 110 can be circulated in the ice-making chamber 110, and the ice in the ice-making chamber 110 can be ice-cooled. The cool air in the ice making chamber 110 can be discharged to the second duct hole 213 of the cooling duct 210 through the discharge port 320 and the cool air discharged from the ice making chamber 110 Cooled again in the cooling duct 210, and then introduced into the inlet 310 of the ice-making chamber 110 again.

The evaporation coil 220 can cool the air in the cooling duct 210 by cold air through heat exchange with the refrigerant. The evaporating coil 220 is installed on the cooling duct 210 so that the evaporating coil 220 can cool the cooling duct 210 by conduction during the circulation of the refrigerant by the refrigeration cycle. .

The evaporation coil 220 may serve as an evaporator of the refrigeration cycle. For example, the evaporation coil 220, together with the compressor 11, the condenser 12, and the expansion valve 13, can implement a refrigeration cycle through a process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation.

The configuration of the compressor 11, the condenser 12, the expansion valve 13 and the evaporation coil 220 is provided as a refrigeration cycle for providing cold air to the ice making chamber 110 , It is possible to provide the cold air to the freezing compartment and the freezing compartment of the refrigerator as well as the ice making compartment 110. In addition, the compressor 11, the condenser 12, and the expansion valve 13 may be configured to share refrigerant in an evaporator (not shown) for providing cold air to the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber.

The heat transfer fins 214 may include a plurality of heat dissipating fins protruding into the cooling duct 210. The plurality of radiating fins may be spaced apart from the inner surface of the cooling duct 210 by a predetermined distance.

The heat transfer fin 214 increases the area of heat exchange between the air flowing through the cooling channel 211 in the cooling duct 210 and the refrigerant moving through the evaporation coil 220, Can be effectively transmitted.

FIG. 5 is a state diagram illustrating a connection state between an ice-making chamber and a cooling duct in a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an internal structural view illustrating an ice-making chamber of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 6, the ice making chamber 110 may be provided in the refrigerator door 30 of the refrigerator 1. Although the ice making chamber 110 is provided on the upper portion of the refrigerating chamber door 30 in this embodiment, this is merely an example, and the ice making chamber 110 may be provided in the upper portion of the refrigerating chamber door 30, It may be installed in another location.

The ice making chamber 110 may provide an ice making space 111 in which ice is generated. The icemaker 120, the ice bank 130, and the circulating fan 330 may be provided in the ice making chamber 110.

The ice maker 120 can cool water with ice using the cool air introduced into the ice making space 111, and take out the cooled ice to the ice bank 130. The ice bank 130 is located below the ice maker 120 where the ice is taken out. The ice bank 130 stores the ice taken out, and can provide ice to the user through a dispenser unit (not shown). The circulation fan 330 may move the cool air from the inlet 310 to the outlet 320.

7 is a block diagram illustrating an ice making method using an ice making duct of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the method for ice-making a refrigerator according to an aspect of the present invention includes the steps of supplying a refrigerant to an evaporation coil S100, supplying air to a cooling duct surrounded by the evaporation coil S200, (S300) of cooling the air through the heat transfer fin provided in the cooling duct (S300), supplying cold air to the ice making chamber for generating ice (S400), discharging the cold air in the ice making chamber to the cooling duct (S500), and re-cooling the discharged cool air in the cooling duct (S600).

The step (S100) of supplying the refrigerant to the evaporation coil may supply the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle to the evaporation coil. At this time, the evaporation coil together with the compressor, the condenser and the expansion valve forms a refrigeration cycle through the process of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation.

The step S200 of supplying air to the cooling duct surrounded by the evaporation coil may supply air into the cooling duct for cooling the air. The air supplied in the cooling duct can be moved upward from the lower end of the cooling duct.

In the step S300 of cooling the air through the heat transfer fin provided in the evaporation coil with the cooling air, the air can be cooled by the cooling air by moving the evaporation coil in the cooling duct wound therearound.

At this time, the air in the cooling duct moves while exchanging heat with the refrigerant of the evaporation coil for a certain period of time along the cooling channel protruded by the heat transfer fin, thereby increasing the heat exchange area between the air in the cooling duct and the refrigerant in the evaporation coil . As a result, the air discharged from the cooling duct can be cooled with cold air at a temperature at which the ice-making is possible (for example, minus 14 degrees or less).

In the step S400 of supplying cool air to the ice making chamber for generating the ice, the cool air cooled in the cooling duct may be supplied into the ice making space of the ice making chamber through the inlet of the ice making chamber. The cool air introduced into the ice-making space can be circulated in the ice-making space by the operation of the circulation fan, and the water in the ice-making space can be ice-cooled.

In the step S500 of discharging the cold air in the ice-making chamber to the cooling duct, the cool air in the ice-making space may be discharged to the cooling duct through the outlet of the ice-making chamber.

In the step S600 of re-cooling the discharged cold air in the cooling duct, the cool air introduced into the cooling duct is moved again along the cooling channel of the cooling duct for a predetermined period of time, Can be cooled.

As described above, the present invention can improve the cooling efficiency of the ice and the supply efficiency of the cool air by using the cool air directly cooled in the cooling duct, thereby improving the ice cooling efficiency and the cold air supply efficiency. It is possible to effectively reduce the loss of cold air, and consequently to reduce the power consumption due to the operation of the refrigerator.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. For example, a person skilled in the art can change the material, size and the like of each constituent element depending on the application field or can combine or substitute the embodiments in a form not clearly disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention, Of the range. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and that such modified embodiments are included in the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention.

110: ice making room 120: ice maker
130: Ice bank 200: Ice-making duct
210: cooling duct 211: cooling duct
212: first duct hole 213: second duct hole
214: heat transfer pin 220: evaporation coil
310: inlet 320: outlet
330: Circulating fan

Claims (9)

A cooling duct through which cold air can be moved in the longitudinal direction and both ends can communicate with the ice making chamber so that the cold air is circulated with the ice making chamber;
An evaporation coil installed on the outer surface of the cooling duct and cools the air by the cool air through heat exchange with a refrigerant passing through a refrigeration cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation; And
And a heat transfer fin provided inside the cooling duct,
Wherein the cooling duct extends in the vertical direction of the main body so as to be inclined toward the front of the main body of the refrigerator from inside the main body of the refrigerator. The method according to claim 1,
The heat transfer fin
And the ice making duct is provided at a plurality of positions spaced apart from the inner surface of the cooling duct. A cooling duct through which cold air can be moved in the longitudinal direction and both ends can communicate with the ice making chamber so that the cold air is circulated with the ice making chamber;
An evaporation coil installed on the outer surface of the cooling duct and cools the air by the cool air through heat exchange with a refrigerant passing through a refrigeration cycle of compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation; And
And a heat transfer fin provided inside the cooling duct,
The cooling duct
A cooling passage extending in the longitudinal direction inside the cooling duct to move the cool air;
A first duct hole provided at one end of the cooling passage to supply the cool air to the ice-making chamber; And
And a second duct hole provided at the other end of the cooling duct to receive the cool air from the ice making chamber. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the first duct hole is connected to the upper side of the ice making chamber and the second duct hole is connected to the lower side of the ice making chamber. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cooling duct is installed in a main body of a refrigerator, the ice-making chamber is installed in a refrigerator door of the refrigerator,
And one end and the other end of the cooling duct are selectively communicated with the ice making chamber according to opening and closing of the refrigerating chamber door. The method according to claim 1,
The evaporation coil
An icing duct of a refrigerator having an evaporator function of a refrigeration cycle and cooling the cooling duct by conduction. Supplying a refrigerant to the evaporation coil;
Supplying air to the cooling duct surrounded by the evaporation coil;
Cooling the air through a heat transfer fin provided in the cooling duct to exchange heat between the air and the refrigerant;
Supplying the cold air to an ice making chamber for producing ice;
Discharging the cool air in the ice-making chamber to the cooling duct; And
And re-cooling the discharged cool air in the cooling duct,
The step of cooling the air with cold air comprises:
Wherein the cooling air is cooled by cold air through heat exchange with a refrigerant of the evaporation coil passing through a compression-condensation-expansion-evaporation refrigeration cycle. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the step of cooling the air with cool air through heat exchange between the air and the coolant includes:
Wherein the cooling air is cooled to a predetermined temperature or lower by moving the cooling air for a predetermined time along a cooling channel of the cooling duct.

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